Cable-splicing machine



- Aug. 21 1 928, 1,681,245

0.. T. MAY ET AL CABLE SPLICING MACHINE Filed May 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Aug. 21, 1928. 1,681,245

. D. T. MAY ET L CABLE SPLICING MACHINE Filed May 1925 2 Sheets-Sheep 2 hue/2mm: I MM Z'Ma Char/ea 6 Mc'fibrml'cl' Patented Aug. 21, 1928.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

DAVID '1. MAY, 01 PORT WASHINGTON, AND CHARLES Gr. MCCORMICK, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNORS. BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, TO \VESTERN ELECTRIC COMPANY, INCORPORATED, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

CABLE-SPLICING MACHINE.

Application filed May 6, 1925. Serial No. 28,320.

.art of a skilled manual cable splicer.

Heretofore, the two ends of the cables to be connected were brought together, the paper covering of the respective individual wires stripped by hand and the wires twisted together, which often resulted in a splice of uneven wire lengths as: well as being a ditlicult and tediousoperation. By this invention, a splicing machine is provided which makes a tight and uniform splice in paper insulated cable wire, thereby obviating the necessity of soldering in most cases as well as the necessity of employing the services of a highly skilled cable splicer. More specifically, this invention consists of a supporting member for holding two or more wires at the base of the intended splice, an electromagnetically operated wire cutter and grip for holding wire ends on the motor driven twisting shaft, automatic means for stopping the twisting operation when the splice is completed, and electromagneticmeans for restoring the machine to the initial starting position.

Referring to the preferred embodiment 0 this invention set forth in the drawings in which like reference characters designate like parts in the several Views, Fig. 1 is a front elevation of the machine of this invention, Fig. 2 is a plan View of two wires at the be ginning of the twisting operation, Fig. shows a completed twisted splice at the end of the twisting operation, Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the rotatable electromagnetic wire gripping head before closure,- showing the starting switch springs, Fig. 5 isa face view of the electromagnetic restoring means for returning the machine to its initial operative position, Fig. 6 shows a completed splice, Fig. 7 shows the arrangement of wires for a butt splice, and Fig. Sisan operative plan of the electrical scheme of the machine.

Referring particularly to Fig. 1, numeral 1 designates one of the two cable ends as they pro1ect end to end in position for splicing. The wire holding member consists of a vertical bar 2, having a hook-shaped knife blade 3 at its upper end, and longitudinally pivotal on the pin 4 mounted in the base 5. Contact springs 6, 7, 9 and 10 are mounted in insulator block 8 which is rigidly attached to the pivotal bar 2 the spring arrangementbeing such that when the bar is moved forward, stud 12 causes spring 10 to make contact with spring? which in turn operatesspring 9 to make contact with spring 6. The coil spring 13 acting through lever 14 attached to insulator block 8 resists the closure of contact springs 6'? and 9 10 to keep member 2 in its forward and inoperative position as shown. o

The twisting mechanism consists of an electric motor 15, or other rotary machine or mechanism, directly or through a flexible shaft attached to the armature of which is the twisting shaft 16, reduced in section near its outer end and which isshaped with a born 17, around which the wires 18 and 19 which are to be spliced are bent as shown in Figs. 2, 3 and t. Horn 17 is especially designed to offer minimum frictional resistance to the insertion of the wires, which may be rapidly bent around it at any point on its inner surface and will always slip down so as to lodge in the proper position on the reduced section at the base of the horn as the wires are drawn taut. A cylindrical sleeve 20 is axially slidable on theshaft 16 so as to grip the ends of wires 18 and 19 securely to the shaft and cut otl'their free ends by means of the knife edge '21 registering with the curved rear edge of horn 17. Sleeve 20 is keyed to shaft 16 by means of key 22 fastened by screw 23 'to the sleeve and provided at its outer end with a number of sharp serrations Qat which grip the wire ends securely against the rear face of horn 17, after the free ends have been cut oil' by knife edge 21. A collar 25 at the rear-end ofsleeve 2O cooperates with a forked simple lever 26, actuated by solenoid 528 through its armature '27 attached to its lower end. Thefulcrum of lever 26 consists of a b 'acket 29 mounted on the top of solenoid 28, and carries two contact springs 30 and 31 insulated from each other and from bracket 29. As solenoid 28 attracts its armature 27 to advance sleeve 20, a button 32 attached to lever 26 engages and closes contact springs 30 and 31. A coil spring 33, one end of which is rigidly attached to a stationary pin list, retracts the lever 26 and sleeve 20 to open contacts 30 and 31 as solenoid 28 releases its armature 27.

The machine starting switch consists of contact springs 35 and 36 mounted in an insulating block 37 fastened to the upper surface of a bracket- 38 which is rigidly attached to the machine frame. A guard l fixed to bracket 38 is provided with a V-shaped notch 4-1 extending below the normal position of contact spring 35, so that when wires 18 and it) are brought around horn 1.7 and into slot 41, they engage spring 35 so that it contacts with spring 36 to close the operating circuit. The guard is also designed so as to protect the contact springs against prelnature operation and injury.

The mechanism for restoring the machine to the initial position in readiness for the next splice, i. e. in the position of Fig. 4-, is shown in Fig. in face vie and consists of the disc 43 fixed to the ring 15 which ring is fastcned to shaft 42 of motor 15 by means of two members -14. Ring 4-5 carries crank 16 and connecting link 17 connected to the armature 4-8 of solenoid Q9.

The various elements of the complete ma chine are mounted on the base 50, which may be supported on the floor or the wall of a man-hole or suspended from the cable ends, in any suitable manner as desired.

Referring now particularly to the schematic drawing of Fig. 8, for the purpose of describing the operation of the machine of this invention, two corresponding wires 18 and 19 are selected from the two cable ends and drawn tightly around the hook-shaped knife blade 8 as shown in Fig. 2. The knife blade is just sharp enough to partly cut through the paper insulation of the wires so that it may be drawn oil? of the wires by the operator as they are drawn taut. Bar 2, being pivoted at a so as to move to the left as the wires are drawn over hook 3, causes contact springs 6 and 7, which are mounted on bar 2 to engage contact springs 9 and when spring 10 strikes stud 12 which is rigidly mounted on base 5. The closure of these contacts places the machine in operable condition. The wires are then drawn by the operator around the horn 17 of the twisting shaft 16 and into the V-shaped notch 41 of guard 40 to close contact springs 35 and 3G,

. in the manner shown in Fig. et. The closure of contacts 35 and 36 operates relay 51 from battery 53 through contacts 6 and 9. Relay 51 at its contact 57 locks up through its sec- 0nd winding by way of armature 59 of relay (30. The operation of relay 51 cuts oil the restoring circuit at contact 58, connects the field of motor directly to battery 56 through contact 55 and lead (31 and operates the sleeve actuating solenoid 28 by means of battery through contact 58 and normally closed contact 63 of relay (SO.

Solenoid 28 attracts its armature QT and consequently moves lever 26, pivoted at against the tension of spring 25;}, thereby advancing sleeve 20 to cut oil the tips of wires 18 and 19 and grip them securely against the base of horn 17. The motion o t lever 26, by means of button 32, closes contacts -31 which through battery (34:, contacts 7 and 1t) and normally closed contact to the armature of the motor causes the twisting shaft to revolve, battery being fed to the field of the motor through lead (31 and armature of relay 51. At the same time relay (36 is operated by battery (it through contacts 30- 31, 7-10, and resistance (57, which is in series with the relay winding to prevent the drawing of heavy current through the whaling.

The motor revolves the twisting shaft to twist the wires as shown in Fig. 2'} until they are completely twisted together, whereupon the stresses set up in the twisted wires linally cause them to twist oil at the outer edge of horn 17. The breaking of the wires allows the supporting head bar 2 to return to its normal forward position under the stress of spring 13, thereby opening contacts (3t) and 7-10. The opening of contacts 710 opens the battery supply of the motor armature and removes the short circuit around the winding of relay (i0, and this relay operates by but tery 61 through contacts SEW-31. resistance 67, and the winding of relay (3G. Relay (it) locks up by battery (38 through contact (if) and contact 71 of relay 66. The operation of relay 6O performs the following functions:

(a) Releases the sleeve solenoid due to the opening of its circuit at contact (32}, which permits sleeve 20 to retract under st res-s of spring 33 to release the ends of the, wire. remaining clamped between sleeve 20 and born 17, and to open contacts 3tl3l;

(b) Opens contact 5.) in the locking circuit of relay 51 but does not release it, since contact 59 is bridged by contact 70 of relay 6 which remains operated until the motor stops;

(0) Closes contact 65 ol relay (it) which short-circuits the motor armature through the low resistance slow release relay 6 and stops the motor, relay ()6 remaining operated on the diminishing armature (j-urrcnt and momentarily thereafter, due to its slow release characteristic, thus assuring a delinitc stoppage of the motor before the next circuit oper ation occurs. Upon release of relay (36, relays 51 and (30 release. due to the opening of contacts and 71 respectively, relay 51 being designed to release before relay (it).

llitl The release of relay 51 brings into operation, the means for restoring the twisting head to its correct angular positionin readiness for splicing other wires i. e. in the manner shown in Fig. 4 in which the horn 17 pro jects upwardly.

The operation of the restoring means is dependent upon theangular position in which the motor armature stops, which detern'iines the position of the insulating arcs 72, 71-5 and 74 relative to the brushes 7 5, 7 6 and 77 and the conducting contactsurface 78 of the contact disc 43 attached to themotor shaft/42. Vhen the disc is in the position shown in Fig. 8, the release of relay 51, closing contact 58, allows current to flow from battery 62, through contact 58, brush 77 face 78: brush 7 5, and resistance 79 to point 80 at which the current divides, a part flowing through contact to the armature of motor 15, and part by way of contact 55 to the field of motor 15. This causes themotor to revolve slowly at a speed depending upon the value of resistance 79, until. the circuit is broken through the windings due to the .eugagement of brush with the insulating are 72, while brush 76 simultaneously leaves the insulating are 73 and engages a conducting surface 78. The current then flows from battery 62 by way. of contact 58, brush 77, contacting surface 78, brush 7 (S, and relay 81, back to ground, thereupon operating relay 81 to close contact 82, which allows current from battery 83 to flow through solcnoidf). The operation of solenoid ltl, through its armature 4:8, link 47, andcrank 46, pulls shaft 42 of motor 15 around to itsnormal operative position, i. e., with horn 17 projecting upwardly as shown in Figs. 1, 2,3, st and 7. In this position, the circuit through solenoid 19 is broken by the engagement of brush 76 with an insulating are 74, which releases relay 81 andopens contact 82.

It is evident that in case the armature of motor 15 stops in such an angular position that the crank 46 of the restoring mechanism is below the horizontal center line of the sh aft 42, complete restoration is accomplished solely by solenoidett). In case the motor stops with crank 46 above the horizontal center line, restoration occurs in two steps,

firstly, by current througlnthe motor windings as hereinbefore described, and, secondly by the operation of solenoid 49. This is necessary in order to provide for any stoppage at or near the top dead center of cranketG, n

which case the solenoidwould be ineffective and inoperative. It will be understood that the various batteries shown in the drawings maybe replaced bya common; battery or current supply with the positive pole grounded.

In addition to the operating @fliClQllCfJ and rapidity of the machineof this invention, by which the uniform solderless splice can be made in less than that time required by a contact surhighly skilled manual splicer,attention is particularly directed to the type of splice so made. Fig. 6 shows such a splice as completed by the machine just after-the condition shown by Fig. 3, in which the wire is about to be twisted oil at the edge of horn 17. After the wire is removed from the machine, it will be seen. that hook 3 around which the wires are first bent, leaves a loop or opening 84.- between the wires in the form of a relatively loose twist as compared to the body 85 oil? the splice. This is particularly advantageous as it prevents excessive working of the wire metal at a point where strength is particularly desired. Furthermore, loop 84 gives suilicient play and flexibility to the splice that it may be freely handled subsequently without danger of breakage, and also the unavoidable slight diilierence in the lengths of the wires 01 the completed splices will be taken up by this extra loop and thus the otherwise additional strain on the shorter wire is avoided. The greater flexibility afforded by this additional loop allows the body S5 of the splice to be bent over more readily into its final position para llelly adjacent to one oi the wires 18 or 19 before the insulating tube not shown is slipped over to complete the splice. The size of the loop Sat may be obviously made to suit various conditions by changing the size and shape of the hook shaped knife blade 3. The machine of this invention may be adapted to make several diiierent kinds of splices as for instance, a butt splice as shown in Fig. 7 where the wires come from the-same direction. In such a case an additional knife blade 84 is arrangedparallel to kniie blade 3 on bar 2 with a space between them suiiiciently large to admit a single wire, as shown. The wires are brought around the. knife blades so that one of them is passed between the knife blades and the paper insulation stripped oil by the operator.

It has been found that by shiftingbar 2 to the rightof the center line of the machine, the

pitch of the twist may be varied according tothe distance of bar 2 from the center line, for instance, as the distance of bar 2 from the center line is increased, the pitch o't'the twist is increased so that twists of different pitch may be obtained asdesired.

It is obvious that the machine of this in vention may be applied to various purposes for the twisting and si ilicing of wires oi l1. or small gauge and it is therefore tote un stood that this invention is not confined to the I details shown in the drawings and set forth fit VVhat is claimed is:

1. In a wire splicing machine, a wire support, a motor, a guide on the motor shaft adapted to receive the wires from the support, a switch operated by the placing of the wires on the guide, a circuit including a magnet closed thereby, a sleeve on the motor shaft operated by said magnet to clamp the wires between the sleeve and guide and sever the excess wire, a circuit including the motor closed by the operation of said magnet to cause said motor shaft to twist said wires, and a switch actuated by the breaking of the wire to open the motor circuit.

2. In a wire splicing machine, a knife mechanism over which the wire is placed and which partly assists in the stripping of the paper otl of the ends of the wires to be twisted, a motor shaft carrying a lug around which the wires to be twisted are bent, a magnetically operated sleeve which cuts ofi and holds the wires ready for the twisting operation, a motor circuit closed upon the completion of the operation of said sleeve whereupon said shafttwists the wires, and a positioning magnetic device which restores the shaft to normal position after the finishing ot a splice so that it will be ready for the next splice.

3. A wire splicing machine comprising wire gripping means, mechanical wire twisting means, electrical starting means, magnetic stopping means operated by the breaking of said wires at the completion of the splice, and magnetic means for restoring said machine in readiness for the succeeding splice.

4. A machine for splicing wire consisting of a. wire guide, a rotatable wire clamp, means for rotating said clamp, means operated by the breaking of the wires for stopping said rotating clamp, and automatic means for restoring said machine to its initially operative position.

5. A machine for splicing wire consisting of a wire gripping head, a rotatable wire twisting head, magnetically operated means for cutting off and gripping the wire to said twisting head, means for rotating said twisting head, and automatic means for stopping said head upon the completion of the splice.

6. A wire splicing machine comprising a revol able shaft, a magnetically operated means on said shaft for gripping and trimming the wire ends, a pivotal clip for holding said wires at the base of the intended splice, a switch, said clip automatically operating said switch to stop the machine at the completion of the splice, and magnetic means for restoring the machine to its initially operative position.

7. In a machine for splicing wire, a wire holding means, a magnetic wire gripping means, mechanical wire twisting means, elcctrical starting and stopping means, circuits for actuating the same controlled by the wires to be spliced, and magnetic restoring means.

8. In a machine for splicing wires, an elec tric motor for twisting the wires, a pivotal member for holding said wires at. the base of the intended splice, said pivotal member moving to break an electrical circuit to stop said motor at the completion of the splice, and automatic magnetic means for preparing the machine for the next splice.

9. In a machine for splicing wires, rotary means for twisting the wires together, means for rotating the same, said rotary means breaking said wires by twisting them off at the completion of the splice, means opcratcd thereby to cause the machine to stop, and automatic means for preparing the machine for a succeeding splice.

10. A wire splicing machine consisting of two wire gripping heads, an electric motor for revolving one of said heads to twist the wires together, magnetic stopping means operated by the twisting off of the wires at the completion of the splice, and a magnetically operated mechanism for restoring the machine to its initial position in readiness for the next splice.

11. In a machine for splicing wires, rotary means for twisting wires together, means for rotating the same, said rotary means twists ing oil' the wires at the completion of the splice, means actuated thereby for stopping said rotary means, and auxiliary means for preparing said rotary means for the followmg splice.

152. In a machine for splicing the corrc sponding wires of two or more cables, :1 clip for holding said wires atthe base of the intended splice, a rotatable shaft to which the free ends of said wires are mechanically gripped, a rotary means for rotating said shaft, an electrical contact for automatically starting the machine, said rotatable shaft adapted to twist said wires until broken at the completion of said splice by the deformation of the wires thereby stopping the machine, and magnetic means for automatically restoring the machine to the initial starting position.

13. In a machine for joining wires, means for gripping said wires at the base ol the intended joint, rotatable means for gripping the free ends of said wires, means for rotating said rotatable means to twist said wires together, said rotatable means breaking oil said wires at their free ends upon completion of the joint, means actuated thereby for stopping the rotatable means, and restoring means for returning said rotatable means to its initial position.

14. A machine for making a twisted wire splice, comprising a member for holding the base of the wires to be spliced, a rotatable clamp for holding the free ends ol the wires, means for rotating said clamp, said means breaking the wires upon the completion of illl Inn

the splice, means actuated thereby for stopbreaking said Wires by twisting them off at ping the rotation of said rotatable clamp, the completion of the splice, and means for and means for restoring said rotatable clamp simultaneously stopping said rotary means. 10

to its initial position. In Witness whereof, We hereunto subscribe 5 15. In a machine for splicing Wires, rotary our names this 29th day of April A. D., 1925.

means for twisting the Wires together, means DAVID T. MAY.

for rotating the same, said rotary means CHARLES G. MCCORMICK. 

